Main Navigation

Three Letters Reporting on Slavery on the Letterhead of the Cuban...

Manuscript; Cuba; Jamaica; Slavery

Anxiety About the Effects of Abolition in Jamaica [Manuscript]. [Cuba]. [Jamaica]. [Brosa, Antonio]. [Duquesnay, Carlos]. [Three Letters Reporting on Slavery on the Letterhead of the Cuban Consulate in Jamaica]. Jamaica, 1839-1842. Three letters, 8" x 12-3/4," manuscript in ink. Two letters, dated March 28, 1839 and July 20, 1839, are single leaves with blank versos. The third, dated August 3, 1842, is a bifolium with content on recto of the first leaf. This letter encloses a bifolium addendum dated August 23, 1842, 6" x 8-1/2," with content on recto of the first leaf. Moderate toning and foxing, some edgewear, faint fold lines, minor burn through, a few minor tears and worm holes, very good overall. $2,500. * These letters were written at a time when the Cuban government had a constant fear of its slave and free-black population. The Haitian Revolution was a fairly recent event, the abolition movement was becoming more popular and there was constant talk about slave insurrections. What's more, Cuba was a nation in a region with a majority population of free, enslaved and recently emancipated people of African origin. Addressed to the Capitan General de la Isla de Cuba from the consulate in Jamaica, these letters record impressions about the effects of abolition, which occurred in stages between 1834 and 1838. They were dispatched by two consular officials, Antonio Brosa and Carlos Duquesnay. The first letter, from March 28, 1839, reports that his troop level has dwindled down to 1,300 men, including 100 "negroes." He is concerned about the effectiveness of this force and doubts the loyalty of his "negro" soldiers. The other letter by Brosa, dated July 20, 1839, requests a company of troops to address a "disorder" resulting from a group of "negroes" refusing to pay their rent. The Letter from Duquesnay, reports on a series of "disruptions" caused by "los emancipados." Taken together, these letters record the anxiety of Cuba's governing class over the shifting dynamics of slavery.